You know how gun right orgs are always criticized and ridiculed for claiming that anything that moves toward more gun control is just a first step on a slippery slope to civilian disarmament? Yeah, well there’s a good reason for those warnings.
Democrats and their accomplices in the Civilian Disarmament Industrial Complex and the media (but I repeat myself) have pushed for decades, working around the edges to limit, to ban, to inconvenience, and to harass firearm owners and limit their Second Amendment rights.
It’s been obvious to anyone paying attention that throwing them bones — universal background checks, safe storage mandates, whatever — would never be enough of a “reasonable”, common sense compromise to get them to go away and leave our rights alone. Like the very determined cyborg, they feel no pity, no remorse, and no fear, and they absolutely will not stop.
In recent years, they’ve dropped any pretense that that they’re playing a long game with the ultimate goal of achieving Australian- or UK-style prohibition of most, if not all civilian gun ownership. In a country of over 100 million gun owners who own more than 400 million firearms, that’s a big job, but they keep moving forward.
After particularly horrific events like the Uvalde shooting, they seize on the opportunity to play on the public’s fears and take political advantage of useful idiots like Texas Senator John Cornyn, who just want to be seen as “reasonable” and get some rare, ego-stroking positive mentions from the Washington Post and the New York Times (not to mention the Dallas Morning News, the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express back home).
That’s how we’ve arrived at a pass where Cornyn thought it would be a good idea to team up with one of the most virulent foes of gun rights in the Senate, Connecticut’s Chris Murphy, to broker a deal and recruit nine other dupes GOP Senators to get on board (four of whom are retiring and don’t have to worry about facing voters again).
Last night, the Senate dropped the legislation they wrote around the much celebrated bipartisan framework deal they reached. It’s a gun control bill that includes incentivizing states to enact red flag confiscation laws, “enhanced” background checks on adults under 21, and redefining what a “gun seller” is. Oh, it will also send hundreds of millions to states to use as pork barrel graft for “crisis intervention” services such as establishing “drug courts” and “mental health courts.”
Cornyn, for one, couldn’t be more proud of what he’s achieved in what’s being called — no, really — the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
“Today, we finalized bipartisan, commonsense legislation to protect America’s children, keep our schools safe, and reduce the threat of violence across our country. Our legislation will save lives and will not infringe on any law-abiding American’s Second Amendment rights. We look forward to earning broad, bipartisan support and passing our commonsense legislation into law.”
Again, these are the ten Republicans that have made this possible.
John Cornyn – Texas
Thom Tillis – North Carolina
Roy Blunt – Missouri
Richard Burr – North Carolina
Bill Cassidy – Louisiana
Suan Collins – Maine
Lindsey Graham – South Carolina
Rob Portman – Ohio
Mitt Romney – Utah
Pat Toomey – Pennsylvania
But you can feel good about the bill because, as the AP writes, “This bill, (Senator) Murphy said, would ‘save thousands of lives.’”
As for Cornyn . . .
I believe that the same people who are telling us to do something are sending us a clear message, to do what we can to keep our children and communities safe. I’m confident this legislation moves us in a positive direction.
Well that’s good. As long as he’s confident.
As you’d expect, the bill was not greeted with applause from the gun rights side.
Would you trust ANY Senator – especially this one — that would deny ANY constitutional right? https://t.co/yUIJ66TMYM
— Firearms Policy Coalition (@gunpolicy) June 22, 2022
GOA summed up the product of the legislative sausage-making pretty well . . .
Among other alarming provisions, the legislation would encourage Backdoor Universal Background Checks by redefining many private sellers as gun dealers, financially incentivize states to enact unconstitutional “red-flag” laws, and would allow for so-called “enhanced background checks,” which are arbitrary delays in transferring firearms to adults not yet 21 years-old.
Erich Pratt, GOA’s Senior Vice President, issued the following statement:
“Once again, so-called ‘conservative’ Senators are making clear they believe that the rights of American citizens can be compromised away. Let me be clear, they have NO AUTHORITY to compromise with our rights, and we will not tolerate legislators who are willing to turn gun owners into second-class citizens. GOA fully opposes this unconstitutional legislation and will continue to encourage our millions of members to make their voices heard to their elected officials on this bill.”
From the NRA . . .
This legislation can be abused to restrict lawful gun purchases, infringe upon the rights of law-abiding Americans, and use federal dollars to fund gun control measures being adopted by state and local politicians. This bill leaves too much discretion in the hands of government officials and also contains undefined and overbroad provisions – inviting interference with our constitutional freedoms.
You don’t say. Even the gun-grabbers at Giffords aren’t entirely happy (but don’t think that will keep them from supporting the first gun control legislation with a prayer in the last three decades).
Unlike most other gun control groups, Giffords includes criticism in their response to the Senate bill’s text: https://t.co/PCtoZLUvub pic.twitter.com/EJBcT9G4E6
— Rob Romano (@2Aupdates) June 22, 2022
Kris Brown and the Brady gang are giddy and fully on board.
This is a huge deal, folks.
We at @bradybuzz thank @SenSchumer & @ChrisMurphyCT for their leadership.
We were by Sen. Schumer and President Biden’s side 30 years ago when we passed the bipartisan Brady Bill.
We’ll be there again when this lifesaving legislation becomes law. https://t.co/8PNnt4uaZ8
— Kris Brown | President, bradyunited.org (@KrisB_Brown) June 22, 2022
It’s interesting that Brady’s Kris Brown didn’t include Senator Cornyn in her thank-yous. Probably just an oversight.
Democrats are looking to ram this through before the Senate leaves for a two-week break at the end of the week. It would be very inconvenient, after all, for the 10 compromising GOP Senators to hear what their constituents actually think of this legislative fecal floater in the punch bowl. And Democrats know it.
B) Pelosi: While more is needed, this package must quickly become law to help protect our children.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) June 22, 2022
Is Cornyn really delusional enough to have convinced himself that this will satisfy anti-gun Democrats? That giving in on red flag laws and enhanced background checks for millions of Americans will tamp down the hoplophobia enough to calm the gun-grabbing furies?
He is, after all, a made member of the Stupid Party, so anything’s possible. But as a partisan home state crowd made very clear to him last week, his legislative handiwork isn’t winning him many friends in Texas. And if he thinks the fleetingly favorable media mentions mean much, he’s more demented than the guy who sits behind the Resolute desk.
